The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Commercial rearing of emu picking up

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Thursday, Apr 15, 2010
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Commercial rearing of emu picking up

Far from its native habitat in Australia, the flightless emu bird is making its presence felt across the tracts of West Godavari district, thanks to the increasing demand for its meat and oil, believed to be having medicinal properties.

Emu, the third largest bird in the world after ostrich and cassowary, is poised to make its presence felt in most parts of the district with an increasing number of farmers keep commercially rearing it. Therefore, it may soon hit our dining tables in a big way, replacing chicken and mutton curries since its meat is low in cholesterol and high in proteins.

Bank subsidy

With the subsidies on bank loans offered by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), a section of farmers in Bhimavaram, Narsapur, Palacole, Gundampalli in Dwaraka Tirumala mandal and Pragadavaram in Chintalapudi mandal volunteered to diversify into emu rearing as a substitute to the other poultry birds.

K. Kranti Kumar Reddy, who is one of the 13 farmers who procured 1,300 Emu chicks for rearing at Pragadavaram, sees a bright future for it in the district. The sober bird, living on grains, cereals, pulses and grass, offers a wide range of by-products such as meat for human consumption, oil for use by the medical industry etc.

Mr. Reddy said a one-year-old emu measuring 5.5-ft to 6-ft in height and 30-40 kg in weight is a good source of income. S.T.G. Satyagovind, Assistant Director, Animal Husbandry Department, says rearing of emu is risk-free. Its immune system is so strong that it hardly suffers any disease.

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